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Chatting with Vampires ~ To the left please

Satan, Lucifer, Lord of the Flies, The Great Deceiver, The Serpent, Beelzebub… The Beast… all names synonymous with the various concepts of the Devil, the Christian concept of the anti-power to God. A religious separation of the powers of light and good, darkness and evil.

For a great part of human history this icon, and those considered by the church to be associated with it, has been reviled as the ultimate evil power of the world and has been the subject of countless works of fiction and movies that recount the endless war between the two concepts but with the growth of modern vampirism and the many and varied perceptions that go along with it, the power that is regarded as Satan has found new interpretations in a theistic and spiritual path.

In the 1992 film “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” the main character, upon learning of his beloved’s suicide and therefore damnation takes the following approach…

DRACULEA (translation): I renounce God! I shall rise from my own death to avenge hers with all the powers of darkness!

Draculea stabs at the altar cross with his sword. Blood pours from the cross, from the eyes of statues, and from candle flames. Draculea fills a chalice with the blood and drinks it.

DRACULEA (translation): The blood is the life and it shall be mine!

Thus, with the character of the bishop hopping about proclaiming “sacrilege” we are driven inexorably to the conclusion that Draculea is now in league with the ancient foe of God, i.e. The Devil, and so we have the reinforced image of vampires being evil in the extreme. This is a perception that has followed the vampire since its earliest recognition and right up to the present day in fiction. Those of us who inhabit the worldwide society of modern vampirism, however, know better.

To share with us some of the new perceptions of the role of “Satan” and the convergence of theistic paths with modern vampirism, we are honoured to welcome back to RVL two members of the venerable House Rakoczy, Lady Anya Ligeia Rakoczy and Lady Kelly Scarlet Rakoczy.

RVL: Good evening ladies and welcome back to RVL. It is a great privilege to have you with us once again and to be able to spend some time learning from you about this subject.

Lady Anya: Good evening, Tim. Thank you for the opportunity to share my personal views, and that of the Stygian path practiced by our House. It’s always a pleasure to participate with RVL.

Lady Kelly: Thank you, Tim. I am honored to be here this evening.

RVL: The subject of theistic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theistic_Satanism) and spiritual Satanism is not a new one, and from our understanding Satanic groups have various opinions about Satan, ranging from the conviction that he exists and ought to be worshipped, to Anton Szandor LaVey’s (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Szandor_LaVey) symbolic interpretation, which emphasizes individual will and pleasure-seeking. Why do you think the “Satanic” image has received such “bad press” over the ages?

Lady Anya: I think the short answer is, a relentless campaign by the Right Hand Path, and in particular, some Christian sects, to discredit the tenets of the Left Hand Path. As you have astutely pointed out, the central tenets of the LHP are the cultivation of Individual Will and the practice of Freedom, as long as one accepts responsibility for these. Painting these principles as “sinful”, or worse, “evil”, has been the stratagem of the RHP in order to maintain their control over those who don’t want to think for themselves.

Lady Kelly: Indeed, Satanism, in both of its forms, theistic and nontheistic, places emphasis on doing one’s Will as well as carnality. As far as doing one’s Will, Satanism shares this philosophy with other Left-hand Path (LHP) philosophies, including my own Stygian, or Underworld/Chthonic path.

The LHP practitioner seeks self-individuation, apotheosis and godhood, which flies in the face of the largest Right-hand Path religions, i.e., Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. In the big three religions, it is the Will of Jehovah or Allah that is done. In Wicca, it is the Will of the god and goddess that is done. The Left-hand Path adherent says, “my will be done,” where the Right-hand Path adherent says, “thy will be done.”

The goal of self-individuation is creating one’s own objective universe or real world, as well as immortality. The magickian and the sorcerer accomplish their goals via magick ritual and seeking gnosis from within as well as from the otherworld. A fine point to make is that modern-day Luciferians (not to be confused with Satanists) and some spiritual Satanists do not believe in entities at all but see spirits as an archetype residing within the psyche. The end goal is the same however.

“Satanic Panic” was a sociological and psychological phenomenon that began in the 1980’s that purported ritual child and animal abuse. Psychologists were implanting memories into vulnerable children and their parents. This nonsense came to a halt when insurance companies ceased paying for treatment. However, with the advent of movies like, Rosemary’s Baby and The Omen, the idea that occultists are dangerous psychopaths are entrenched in the psyches of impressionable persons. There are some African Traditional Religions (types of Vodoun) and African-Brazilian religions where animal sacrifice is practiced. As far as I know, domestic animals are not sacrificed and the farm animals that are sacrificed are eaten.

If we want to be truthful about human and animal sacrifice, we can look to the Bible as our example. The Bible is rampant with animal and human sacrifice. Today, most of us are far too civilized to employ such nasty feats.

Fueling a current Satanic Panic, we have sensationalistic preachers like Bob Larson casting out demons and preaching utterly untrue garbage about occultists, once again, spreading satanic panic. In South Africa, satanic panic may have become a fulfilled prophecy as crimes have been committed that seem to be spurred on by these supposed satanic teachings from preachers.

If we want to be truthful about human and animal sacrifice, we can look to the Bible as our example. The Bible is rampant with animal and human sacrifice. Today, most of us are far too civilized to employ such nasty feats.

RVL: How do you interpret the archetype of Satan?

Lady Kelly: Satan of the Bible is actually Helel, a lesser god. The prophet Zoroaster, knew of the Great War, where enmity ensued between brothers Asiz/Ahriman (the Dark Lord House Rakoczy speaks of) and Enki (an Elder God). Zoroaster confused the Satan of the Jews with the Dark Lord and the Jews adapted the name, Ahriman the Adversary, into their own language.

From House Rakoczy’s Testament of Shadows, “It is Ha-Samael that embodies and expresses chthonic divinity as a whole known also as Lotan; this is the serpent of old, the dragon of chaos once known as Ahriman and one aspect of which was conflated with Helel and became known as Satan in the Bible.”

Lady Anya: The archetype of Satan, the fleshly aspects of the Dark Lord, can be a very empowering one to overcome guilt and shame and to embrace the flesh. Just as the archetype of Lucifer, the spiritual aspects of the Dark Lord can be a powerful guide to the quest for apotheosis, to ascend to the divinity inherit in the individual.

The titles “Satan” and “Lucifer”, which rightly belong to the Dark Lord, Asiz have been wrongly conflated with the Christian “Devil.” The Dark Lord, Asiz, or Ha-Samael, is the God of the Upyre, the God of the Underworld, and the embodiment of the forces of Chaos. He is not “the devil,” nor the ruler of Tartarus/Zin, but the parent of the Upyre and the ruler of the Underworld. The titles Satan and Lucifer have been applied to Him, and they are His titles, but Ha-Samael is not Helel, the foe of Jews or their God. The Dark Lord is nature and native to the Underworld, whereas Helel, fallen angel, is a light bound in darkness and a foe to both the Dark Lord and the God of the Jews.

In Babylon, the Dark Lord was called Ahriman, and when the Jews were enslaved in Babylon by their own God, they saw Ahriman as an adversarial force, and so gave him the title in Hebrew of Satan, likely derived from the Egyptian name Sutekh. The angel who rebelled against the God of the Jews was named Helel. He was, therefore, seen as a foe to the Jews, and therefore to align with Satan. Later, the Church of Rome, who worship the Roman sun god, an adaptation of Enki, god of light, though they falsely link their God with the God of Abraham, linked Helel and Satan to aspects of the Dark Lord, Asiz or Ha-Samael, and to Venus, and called this creation Lucifer. Likewise, the cult of the moon god, Allah, linked Satan and Helel to Asiz because their God, Allah, like Enki, is one of the “Elder gods” who oppose the Dark Lord. The Muslims called Him Iblis for His Lucifer aspects and Shaitan for His Satan aspects.

The titles Satan and Lucifer are wrongly applied to Helel—they actually belong to Diabolus, the union of Shaitan and Babalon; and Prometheus; the union of Yogsoboth and Chronozon—aspects of Asiz, the Dark Lord. The title Satan expresses the energies of freedom in the domain of the flesh, with blood, and with the planet Pluto; while the title Lucifer expresses the energies of freedom in the domain of the spiritual, with sulfur and with Jupiter. The red lore of the blood and the golden lore of sulfur both belong rightly to the Dark Lord and not to Helel.

The Dark Lord invites those who follow Him to claim the radiance of the spiritual which is concealed in the carnal; to accept ultimate freedom and to build personal power through the doing of one’s own Will as long as one accepts responsibility. The Dark Lord, Asiz or Ha-Samael, is no fallen angel, but the ultimate freedom, the Dragon of radiant Darkness.

RVL: May we ask, in matters of worship and/or ritual do you perceive the “Satanic” image as an embodiment or an idea?

Lady Anya: In worship and ritual, I see the Dark Lord as having many aspects, both male and female. These aspects are both embodiments of virtues to aspire to and sacred entities upon which I call in faith.

For instance, my Patron, Astaroth is a female aspect of the Dark Lord (going by the Grimorium Verum, not the Lesser Key of Solomon.) Astaroth is a triune goddess: Lilith, the Mother; Babalon, the Priestess; and Tuchulcha, the Devourer. All three of these archetypes I call upon at different times to fulfill my walk in life as mother, wife, teacher, student, writer, businesswoman, and sorceress.

Lady Kelly: We celebrate the Feast of Shaitan in March. It is a time when Stygians actively mate to produce a child. Also, an act of decadence or abstinence is performed to show we have control over our own nature.

Shaitan is one of the titles of the Dark Lord. Shaitan is the adversary of Allah in the Koran and has two translations: one is the mighty dragon, the foe of Allah, and the other is beautiful or all-seeing.

RVL: There may be those who read this article who believe you are some sort of Witch who is in league with the Christian Devil, how would you respond to that?

Lady Kelly: They are half right! I am an Upyra (vampyre-witch), a sorceress, a magickian, a Bokor, and many other things. One thing we Upyreshi believe in is freedom of religion. I honor those who practice and hold to the Christian faith. We do not try to undermine Christianity nor profane the name of the Christian god. Additionally, we are too busy on our own path to play those games, which in effect, would be a sort of reverse Christianity.

Lady Anya: I am quite certain that there are many who hold this view, some of them potential clients who may come to me when they want a curse lifted or an evil entity banished, so I appreciate the free advertising.

Removing tongue from cheek, I would respond that I am a Sorceress who practices old-school witchcraft. I am, in fact, allied with my Patron through a Pact. I do not believe my Patron to be the Christian Devil or the foe of the god of Abraham. My pact is with the Dark Lord, Asiz, in the aspect of Astaroth, dark female divinity. My powers are my own.

RVL: So, at the risk of being impudent, what’s the naughtiest thing you’ve ever done?

Lady Anya: Besides desecrating a Church with my demon lover, you mean? I don’t see any of my conduct as naughty or sinful, but I do definitely have a sense of humor along with a deep spiritual conviction—shopping at Hobby Lobby (a chain of stores run by born-again Christians) for my altar supplies does make me giggle.

Lady Kelly: Lol. Oh, alright. I worked for a huge defense contractor. One of the guys (M) I worked with was an absolute jerk. He’d become a supervisor despite his stupidity. It’s always those types, right? A young woman in his group had received her layoff notice. Shortly thereafter, the Human Resources Department of a company whom she had interviewed with called for a recommendation. M suggested another employee who had received a layoff notice. Needless to say, she wasn’t hired by that particular company. She was very bright and deserved better. So, myself, Miss Justice to the rescue, sort of. Or Miss Vengeance shall we say.

M’s briefcase was mainly for carrying his lunch and looking important. *Cue the Mission Impossible theme.” On Tuesdays, our department had a staff meeting. I took a Barbie doll and taped it up to look like a bondage fetish doll. And I put it in his briefcase, knowing that he would flip open his briefcase with a big show and great aplomb during the staff meeting with our Chief and 12 other managers and supervisors.

Funny thing, M never said a word about his Bondage Barbie.

RVL: If we may, moving on to the connections between “Satanism”, or rather the theistic path in the sense that you have described, and modern Vampirism beliefs, what do you perceive the connection to be?

Lady Kelly: Some Satanists (this is not widespread as far as I know) drink blood for spiritual empowerment. It is probably the psychological effect of performing a taboo they seek since they do not need the blood Regarding psychic vampyrism, well…there are several reasons one who is not a vampyre becomes adept at the practice: draining an enemy, control over another, and gathering power for oneself or for ritual.

Lady Anya: There are no direct connections. Many who live as vampires have no religious beliefs, either RHP or LHP.

There are those who see their vampirism as a “condition” or weakness, a belief which is anathema to the Stygian paradigm. Our holy scripture itself (the Testament of Shadows) states: “The ape is the prey of the desert wolf; as such are we to man when man kneels to the sins of his own Gods.” (Litany of Sebek Khem, verse 6) What this means is that as Upyre, we offer a choice to those human who damn themselves and therefore seek us out: death or change. Thus, we serve a purpose in Nature.

RVL: Do you think; in general, that a belief in Satan, thus in God, and the belief in one’s modern vampirism go hand in hand?

Lady Anya: Not in the slightest. Vampirism is, in my opinion, genetically based. One either has vampire (or, as we in House Rakoczy prefer to say Upyre) DNA or one does not. No belief is required—it is equivalent to a racial characteristic. Does a person born into the Jewish race need to believe that this is their bloodline? No. Do they have a choice about practicing Judaism, or any other faith? Of course. This is how I see the connection between vampirism and any other faith or creed. An awakened and practicing vampire may be atheistic, theistic, have a strong secular value system, study occult arts, or not, just as a non-vampyric individual may make these choices.

The one connection that could be seen is in the case of some newly-awakened vampires who don’t have the benefit of either a blood relative or mentor to steer them as they begin to intentionally feed—especially in the case of Sanguinarians. These young ones may experience guilt about feeding on others, and extrapolate that to “being evil.” From there, experimentation with darker paths may result, Satanism being one of these. However, if this is motivated solely by thoughts of self-damnation, it is unlikely to “stick” with any true walking of the Left Hand Path, in which, rather than seeing the self as damned, one begins to perceive the Self as divinity in embryonic form, and thus, needing no redemption.

Lady Kelly: No, I don’t this is the norm at all. Many who practice vampyrism are not vampyres at all.

RVL: In movies, ranging from “The 7th Victim” (1943) to “Rosemary’s Baby” (1968), Prince of Darkness (1987) to “The Rite” (2011) the concept of the “Good versus Evil” battle has been liberally treated in line with popular Christian beliefs, do you think this plays a large part in the negative connotations applied to anything that has to do with the perception of “Satanism” in any form?

Lady Kelly: Absolutely, media has a huge influence. The Satan of today is a created universal archetype that is deeply embedded in the psyches of the masses.

Lady Anya: Absolutely. Dark and Light have been painted as synonymous with Good and Evil. Do I believe there is a Great War between the forces of Dark and Light? Yes. I do not see this as negative, just a fundamental operating principle of the Cosmos. It is a striving for balance between the forces of Chaos and Individual Freedom, and those of External Authority.

RVL: Do you identify as a Satanist and a Modern Living Vampire?

Lady Anya: I identify as neither. I follow the Stygian road of the Left Hand Path. The entity I address as the Dark Lord is Asiz, who is neither the Christian Devil (Helel) nor an archangel (Lucifer) cast out of the kingdom of the god of Abraham. I’ve written an essay for the benefit of my students explaining the difference between the Dark Lord and these entities and why the names Satan and Lucifer hav been conflated with His.

I am a “living vampire” in that I inhabit a mortal humanoid body, one of many incarnations. I am Upyre, born with Upyre DNA and believe my spirit to be immortal.

Lady Kelly: No, I do not identify as Satanist. I identify as a Stygian, one who follows the Chthonic path. My particular path focuses on Loogaria (the Vodoun sorcery and practices of the vampyre-witch of the Southern USA), traditional witchcraft, and necromancy.

My Sire, Magister Mephistopheles, Head of House Rakoczy has written an insightful book on the Loogaroo, Cultus des Loogaroo (Cult of the Loogaroo): Louisiana’s Own Legend & Lore of the Vampyre, for those who would like to research further.

RVL: What are the positive things that you gain from your faith and beliefs?

Lady Kelly: Knowing who I am, that I am a microcosm of the macrocosm, and vice-versa. This has freed me to do my Will upon the earth. My Sire, through his mentoring of me, has given me the keys to unlock my potential. I am a very busy sorceress, mentoring students, doing successful workings for others, and doing divinations which are things I wanted. Probably one of the most exciting ventures for me is writing my own Cultus which will not be available for public scrutiny but means the world to me.

A practical example of manifesting my will is being able to compose music. I had dreamt for years of doing so. Suddenly, in February, I started composing a Nocturne. Now, that is Will manifesting. Next, will be my continuing to paint (I’m an impressionist painter, have been juried into shows sponsored by the National Endowment for the arts and was shown in the Frye Museum in Seattle) as that is where my natural talent lies, and entering more shows. I haven’t decided quite where I want to go with my art. I have to make room in my busy life somehow. I guess I better put my Will on that.

Lady Anya: Freedom from guilt and shame. Freedom from following a set of rules and dogma. Self-confidence. Greater self-esteem. Greater knowledge, both of my Self and of that which is outside my Self: the great Cosmos and the mundane world in which I walk. Above all, the sense of empowerment that comes with realizing that the only limits which exist are those I place on myself.

RVL: If you were going to complete the following comment about the modern Left Hand Path as connected with Modern Vampirism, what would you say? “KEEP CALM AND…..”

Lady Kelly: Do what thou wilt.

Lady Anya: “REMEMBER: A WOLF CARES NOTHING ABOUT THE OPINION OF SHEEP.”

RVL: Have you any general comments you would like to make about the connection, in your case, between your modern vampiric beliefs and your theistic beliefs?

Lady Anya: My belief is in the Dark Lord, Asiz, and principally, in my Self. It is a tenet of the Stygian path that He gave his children only one directive: to do our own Will and to accept responsibility for it. The principal way it’s affected the way I live as an Upyre is to embrace my predatory spiritual nature and to feel neither guilt nor shame for being who and what I am.

Lady Kelly: I do combine my spirituality with my vampyrism. I see the Dark Lord as the father of the Upyre. This does not apply to all vampyres of course. Not all are seed of the Dark Lord.

RVL: Thank you very much indeed for spending this time with us and giving us this fascinating insight into the perceptions and concepts of the path you follow.

Lady Kelly: You are very welcome, Tim. I enjoyed the discussion and hope that it will clarify for others who I am and what I believe/practice.

Lady Anya: It’s been a privilege to have the opportunity to share my personal path, and a pleasure. Thank you, Tim.

In 1971 Led Zeppelin informed us,

“Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run,

There’s still time to change the road you’re on.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Led_Zeppelin_IV#Track_listing) perhaps they should have mentioned there are “many” paths. Historically, prior to the great reformations of the church, state persecution ceased in the 4th century, when Constantine I issued an edict of toleration in 313. On 27 February 380, Emperor Theodosius I enacted a law establishing Nicene Christianity as the state church of the Roman Empire. The Great Apostasy is a term used by some religious groups to describe a perceived fallen state of traditional Christianity, especially the Roman Catholic Church, because they claim it allowed the traditional Greco-Roman mysteries and deities of solar monism such as Mithras and Sol Invictus and idol worship into the church. In short, in their opinion, the church has fallen into apostasy.[1][2] They feel that to attract the pagans to nominal Christianity, the Catholic Church took measures to amalgamate the Christian and pagan festivals [3] so pagans would join the church; for example, bringing in the pagan festival of Easter as a substitute for the Pasch or Passover. Is it a natural progression then that certain “belief paths” should seek to wrest back, in this enlightened day and age, the “old ways” or, seek out alternative ways to explain life the universe and everything?

Given that today’s interpretation of the Vampire has so very little to do with the age old archetype that embodied evil and Satanic connection we shouldn’t be surprised to find that such ideas and concepts have found comfortable coexistence within a number of practitioners, a number that by all accounts seems to be growing. It is important that we shed the ingrained and religiously dominated images of the centuries and look at these things with fresh, wide open and independent eyes for that is, ultimately, the only way to see the truth of a thing.